Ariana Samuelsson is Juliet and Geoff Gonzalez is Romeo in City Ballet’s production. Dale Stokes

The stage is littered with bodies by the end of “Romeo and Juliet.” Happily, though, no time is killed in City Ballet of San Diego’s superb new version of the Shakespeare tale; there are no scenes in which supernumeraries just mill about, filling the minutes between big, dramatic numbers.

As one might expect, choreographer Elizabeth Wistrich devoted great artistry to the pas de deux between the young lovers, beautifully danced by Ariana Samuelsson and Geoff Gonzalez. And Gonzalez, who co-choreographed, created stirring fight scenes. One of the beauties of this production is that the same care is evident throughout the ballet.

Act II, for instance, features two richly choreographed (and handsomely costumed) market scenes, with such delights as two dozen dancers doing an intricate basket-weave pattern reminiscent of a folk dance. And the six girls who enter Juliet’s bedroom in Act III display bright footwork and offer a poignant contrast between their gaiety and the “lifeless” Juliet they’re about to discover.

City Ballet, which turns 20 next year, has a history of tackling ambitious projects — developing a repertory of Balanchine works and in 2009 staging “Giselle,” which requires an emotionally mature lead dancer and a strong female corps de ballet.

Doing “Romeo and Juliet” stretched the company, giving the semiprofessional City Ballet Orchestra a two-hour Prokofiev score and demanding half a dozen men in featured roles.

The 41-member orchestra, conducted by John Nettles, wasn’t the San Diego Symphony — there were occasionally screeching strings and muddy winds — but they played admirably. And what a thrill to hear live music for the ballroom march with its weighted sense of destiny and for the delicate themes that accompany Juliet’s discovery of love.

As for the men, building the ranks of male dancers beyond one or two stars can be a major hurdle, but City Ballet delivered.

Gonzalez was a heart-tugging Romeo, showing off for Juliet at their first meeting with “look at me!” jumps and supporting her so tenderly that Samuelsson seemed to melt into his arms. A rock-strong partner, he did several full overhead lifts, as well as a delicious back-to-back lift in the scene where he’s alone with Juliet for the first time.

Gerardo Gil was a volatile hothead as Tybalt. (Gil played Romeo, opposite Erica Alvarado, on Saturday evening.) As Romeo’s friends Mercutio and Benvolio, Stephano Candreva and Nolan Seda did sprightly clowning; Candreva, a born jokester, earned a roar of applause. Candreva and Seda are in their first seasons with City Ballet, as is Trystan Loucado, who played an ardent Paris and a capering minstrel.

Wistrich also borrowed men from other companies, including the dashing Brandt Martinez. The resulting showcase of accomplished male dancers was a pleasure to see, and it made for nimble sword fights.

Ah, then there’s Samuelsson as Juliet. If she lacked the tremulousness in Act I that would have convinced me she was a teenager, she was glorious in Act III, the morning after her wedding night. She seemed to surrender to Gonzalez with utter trust, letting him swing her in the air or turning from a kneeling position and leaping into his arms. And, as in her splendid Giselle two seasons ago, Samuelsson proved a powerful tragedienne as the story moved to its grief-filled end.